There was a whole discussion in my comments section and I TOTALLY missed it, so now I’m going to write a post about it.

House of Cards. Hmmm I binge watched both seasons on Valentine’s Day weekend on consecutive years.

Oh wait… I guess I don’t want to spoiler anything. So I’ll move my thoughts to the comment section.

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by Dawn Summers on Thursday, March 27th, 2014 at 8:48 am and is filed under Personal.
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3 Responses to “House of Cards”

I will say, first off, I do not think House of Cards is “realistic.” (One of my main complaints about the ABC show ‘Scandal’ is that it’s clear none of the writers ever took a Civics class; they have no idea how government functions, which I find troubling given that the show is supposed to be about Washington insiders.)

House of Cards doesn’t suffer that fatal flaw, they know how the machinations of government function — but they exaggerate it. I don’t know that the President could have such an important adviser be kept secret for so many years. The energy guy somehow determines that Frank is more helpful to him as Speaker, then changes his mind a mere six months later, then a mere four months after that is out on his ass completely?

The first lady has built up this amazing non profit entity and basically drops it halfway through the first episode?

A man skulks around a train platform in a hoodie, but manages to kill a girl and escape unseen? In DC? — heck anywhere? in this digital age?

Plus, the reporter girl deletes info from her phone, and there’s NO trace of it on her hard drives at home?

Nah.

But, what I love about the show is that once you buy in to the rules of the world — Frank is all powerful, get out of his way or be run over — you are rewarded with a delightful web of mischief and manipulation. No, there are no good guys — one of my friends quit watching the show because there’s no one to root for — but that seems to miss the point. You are supposed to be rooting for Frank. (See: above rule.) You want this seemingly hapless loser to win. I like that he’s not afraid to get his hands dirty. I hate what happened to Freddie — and it didn’t even seem necessary — so what the guy who makes the VP’s dinner has a record? Duh. He’s not Secretary of State, he cooks meat. Jeez. But everything else — that dumb reporter’s murder, the even dumber congressman’s murder — his takedown of…well… everybody… it’s what makes Frank, Frank. And I’m here for it.

I agree that you have to agree to their rules. But once you do, the evilness and the depths to which they are willing to stoop are delicious. I decided at the end of season 2 that Claire is really more ruthless and driven than Frank will ever be. She scares me a little. No, a lot. I think the non-profit was something for her to do until she and Frank made it to the White House. I also was upset by what happened to Freddie. He was collateral damage.